Random conversations

The other day, we were out buying some supplies for finishing off our furniture. It had rained just before we reached that area of the city but by the time we got there, the sun had come out again and it was hot and humid. While Gopal was sorting out what we needed, I was just standing around outside idly looking around. Without the cooling airflow of the motorbike, I was starting to feel hot and sweaty.

A couple of doors down there were a couple of guys sitting outside another shop. I’d only been standing outside for a minute or two before they called out to me and offered me a seat. My first instinct was to decline because I didn’t think we’d be there long, but then I reconsidered. Everything takes much longer than you think it will in India. So I went over and sat down.

The young guy insisted I take his more comfortable chair while he sat down on the empty stool. We proceeded to have a conversation for the next 15 minutes while we waited for Gopal to do the shopping. My Hindi is still pretty basic, but his English was rather better (although still quite limited). Despite neither of us really capable of full sentences in the other’s language, we covered all this:

• Our names and ages (he’s 19 and said I was about the same age as his mother)
• Where we each were from (he’s from Bihar, a state in the north). We showed each other pictures on our phones
• How many family members we have (including showing photos of all key people).
• His plans to marry his girlfriend in 5 years time
• His job as a crane operator
• The guy from New Zealand who was in India last week doing some repair work for his company (he even showed me a photo)
• Our smoking & drinking habits
• How much he likes Barack Obama
• Why his phone won’t let him connect to the internet even though he bought a data plan 3 days ago
• Why he has two mobile phones (one for calls & texting, one just for texting)
• His proficiency in sending SMS messages without even looking at his phone
• Cricket and which NZ players have been playing in the IPL and which haven’t.

This sort of thing isn’t uncommon here. People will happily talk about anything with even a perfect stranger. There is no concept of certain topics being off limits, or certain questions being rude to ask. People will talk and ask about anything. It is one of the lovely things about being in India.